Thirteen Balls of Trouble
by Darkness on the Horizon Leader
Summary: When Organization XIII decides to rescue thirteen animals, what could possibly go wrong? They have chosen their pets, the pets have chosen them, and none of them will ever be the same again. *Title subject to change* *Rated T to be safe.*
1. Ferrets and Eagles and Dogs, Oh My!

**Ta-da! A new fanfiction this way comes!**

**I don't know who else owns this idea, but I really liked it when I gave it some thought.**

**I mean, why not? Organization XIII adopting a bunch of abandoned pets? Sounds fun to me!**

**Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Organization XIII, Pets' Mart, the ASPCA, only the animal names and Sayll.**

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><p>Axel shuffled into the Grey Area of the Castle That Never Was, bored and seeking excitement. Most everyone else was there, and Roxas saw him come in and waved lazily from his perch on one of the couches. Demyx looked up when he walked in and lazily plucked a string on his sitar, causing a warbled note to float through the room.<p>

"Hey, you guys bored too?" Axel asked, walking over and sitting down next to them.

"Yup." Roxas nodded.

"Uh-huh." Demyx said.

"Everyone get up." a loud, deep voice rose from the doorway. The Nobodies looked around and saw their Superior standing in the doorway.

"Aww, do we have to?" Demyx complained, but nonetheless got up.

"I believe everyone has been suffering from extreme boredom of late..." Xemnas said, walking further into the room, "Therefore, I have come up with an idea."

"Hmm?" Zexion asked, intrigued.

"What, are we getting pets or something?" Larxene joked.

Xemnas actually smiled at her.

"Why yes. Yes, we are. We leave in thirty minutes."

* * *

><p>The thirteen Nobodies convened outside of a Pets' Mart in some world somewhere, all rather excited about getting their very own pets.<p>

"Everyone is to find one pet and the required supplies. But remember, this is an extreme responsibility, and I expect everyone to keep with the program of raising their creatures." Xemnas reminded them.

"Aw..." Roxas murmured, looking at the window of the Adoption Center, "Should we really buy pets? Why don't we adopt some instead?"

Axel stopped and thought.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea. Yeah, let's adopt some pets!" he said.

"There's an ASPCA center not far from here," Zexion said, flipping through his Lexicon, "we can go there."

"Okay then." Xemnas said, "We'll go to the center and then come back for the supplies later."

They all filed through a portal to the ASPCA, Roxas feeling proud at coming up with the idea to save thirteen animals! This was going to be so much fun!

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><p>"Hi! Welcome to the ASPCA, may I help you?" a friendly-looking woman in a red jacket asked the group when they entered the center.<p>

"Yes, may we see your animals?" Saix asked, "We're looking to adopt."

"Oh." the woman replied, eying the size of the group, "Are you looking for a really good family pet? I'm sure we have some—"

"Actually no," Xemnas said, cutting her off, "we're looking to adopt a pet for each of us."

The woman's smile brightened and she squealed in delight.

"Really? Oh, wonderful! You have no idea how great this is! Yes, please, come this way! We'll undoubtedly find a suitable pet for everyone!"

They all went through into a back room and the Nobodies were somewhat numbed at the animals' conditions. As the lady explained, the center thrived off of donations, and those were becoming scarce. The center could only provide so much food and clean water for all of the animals they found, and the fact that they swiftly overpopulated the cages meant not many of the animals survived through to see a new family.

"It's sad..." the center worker sighed, "That so many animals have to die before they find loving homes. They may be animals, but come on, everyone deserves a second chance, right? You people are doing something really good today: you're giving thirteen animals a second chance. Thank you so much, on behalf of everyone here."

Xemnas only nodded, looking around.

The woman, whose name was Sayll, showed them each of the sections. There was a dog kennel, a cat room, an aviary, and even an exotic animal room.

"It looks like we have a lot of room, right?" she asked, "But we don't. We get about 55 new dogs a week, 34 cats, 26 birds, and about 10 odd animals every other day. We had a lot of space to start out with, but then those other places fell into disrepair and we haven't had the funds to fix them up. And lots of these animals have injuries or are recovering from injuries. The vet...he didn't come today. He's been skipping days now, because we don't have enough money to pay him for his services. We do what we can, but...it's difficult. But please, you're welcome to look around and bond with the animals. I'll be back at the front desk when you're ready to check out."

"Everyone, search out an animal that suits you...I have to go do something." Xemnas said, reaching into his pocket and heading after Sayll.

"I'll be in here." Axel said, disappearing into the exotic animal room.

Xaldin, Zexion, and Vexen went into the aviary. Larxene and Marluxia disappeared into the cat room. And Roxas and Demyx went into the dog room. That left Lexaeus, Luxord, Xigbar, and Saix alone in the cross hall.

"Hm...I think I'll check out the exotics." Xigbar said, going in after Axel.

"I'll go with you." Luxord said.

Lexaeus walked into the dog room without a word, and Saix drifted into the aviary. Why not? A bird might be perfect for him.

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><p>Axel was browsing through the weasel section, interested.<p>

"These things are so cool!" he said, reaching out to a black and gray ferret. It backed away from him, looking up.

"Aw what?" he asked jokingly, "Scared?"

His eye was caught by the lonesome rusty-colored ferret at the other end of the cage. This one stood out from the others for its red and black pattern and when Axel walked over, it didn't flinch or flee. It just watched him.

"You're a toughie, aren't ya?" the pyro asked it. He was surprised to see it had beautiful green-gray eyes and he broke into a smile.

"Well guess what, ahh..." he checked the name on the black collar, "Astoni? You're coming home with me."

He picked up the ferret and it scampered up its arm, not at all concerned by its new owner's high body temperature. Axel laughed when it settled on his shoulder.

"Alright, you chill there and we'll go meet up with everyone else at the front."

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><p>Zexion was sitting on a bench with a handsome young barn owl that was apparently named Damios, according to the silver collar tied around its neck.<p>

He stroked Damios' head plumage thoughtfully, watching Vexen and Xaldin.

Xaldin soon selected a handsome Oriental falcon named Ridan. He strode back to Zexion and Damios with his new companion sitting on his shoulder, his white colored collar standing out greatly against its black feathers.

Briefly, Zexion wondered where they found such creatures as a falcon and an owl. Then he decided some idiot with too much munny decided to flaunt it and buy a foreign animal, only to abandon them with some injury or another. Damios' wing feathers were slightly bent up and ruffled, showing he was recovering from a broken wing. Ridan's chest feathers were regrowing, as if some accident had rubbed them all off.

"They really care about the animals around here." Zexion commented to him, "I mean, they give all of the animals specialized names, despite how many don't make it."

"I know." Xaldin agreed.

"If I had a heart, I'd be almost grieving for these creatures." Vexen said, appearing with another, larger owl on his shoulder. His was a gray owl of some kind.

"His name is Procyon." the Academic explained. He then walked out in front of Zexion and Xaldin, making their way back to the front desk.

Saix met up with them at the door. None of the birds suited him, so he guessed he would try the dogs next.

"I actually think I'll enjoy this having pets in the Organization," Zexion commented, "it will be quite the eventful change."

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><p>Larxene was browsing through the cats, looking for one that suited her.<p>

"Too white, too gray, too brown, too red, too black..." she muttered, moving through the room. "Oh hello, what have we here?"

She bent down in front of a cage and smiled at the feline that stared through the cage back at her.

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><p>Saix came into the dog room to see Roxas and Demyx sitting on the floor with two dogs running around them.<p>

"What are you two doing?" the Diviner asked as Roxas was jumped on by a Jack Russell.

"Oh hi, Saix!" the teenager exclaimed. He picked up the Russell and held it to him, "Meet my puppy, Chance!"

Saix noticed Chance had a bone-patterned cast covering his left leg and figured his previous owner had been careless enough to do that. Demyx looked up as his own dog, a Welsh Corgi of all things, sat on his lap.

"And this is Daze!" he explained, hugging the Corgi close. Saix saw that its eyes were almost unfocused, as if it were daydreaming or something. That figured—of course Demyx would pick a dog as aloof as he was.

"Just remember you two, dogs especially are a great responsibility." Saix warned as he set off down the aisle. He heard the overjoyed laughter of the two younger members behind him and couldn't stifle a smile. Boys and their dogs...

His searching gaze fell on a beautiful red husky and he was taken aback when he saw its eyes. One was deep red and the other was sky blue. He was taken immediately. He bent down and stuck his hand through the cage and let the animal lick his hand and he could see the name engraved into the gold name tag: Shinzo. Looking further, he saw that Shinzo's back left leg was swathed in dark red bandages. She must have not gotten a chance to see the vet again.

"Come, I'll take you home." he murmured. He flipped open the lock and eased Shinzo out, closing the gate firmly behind him.

He didn't know what exactly compelled him to choose her. But he was fairly sure it had something to do with the meaning of her name.

Heart.

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><p>Marluxia walked out of the cat room, holding a Classicat named Raeld. The cat had caught his eye with the handsome tabby swirl coat color and the piercing orange eyes, and the fact it had literally jumped on his head when he walked into the room.<p>

"Well, Raeld, obviously you are a master of stealth and deception," the Assassin commented to his new pet, "therefore, you and I might make wonderful partners."

Raeld meowed his agreement, batting at the jewelry on Marluxia's coat, watching the crystals sparkle with light.

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><p>Everyone met up once again in the front room. Xemnas had a Harpy eagle on his arm, to no one's immediate surprise, but everyone stared at what Lexaeus had found.<p>

"Lexaeus is that a...raccoon?" Saix asked, staring.

Lexaeus nodded.

"Yes, her name is Nimiipuu." he said.

"That's really nice, Lex." Axel smiled as Astoni curled around his neck with a low murmuring sound.

"Nice ferret." Zexion commented.

"Isn't he?" Axel sighed, stroking Astoni's fur.

"Oh good, you all found someone!" Sayll exclaimed, coming out of a back room. Her eyes were wet but she wore a smile nonetheless.

"What happened, Sayll?" Roxas asked.

"Oh, we...we just put down one of our older dogs, Leroy. He's been in here for a year and, well...no one wants a blind, three-legged dog, really." Sayll told him. She looked on the verge of more tears.

"Now I wouldn't say that..." Luxord said. He walked into the room then, carrying a three-legged Cavalier spaniel. "I'm rather taken with this particular dog."

Sayll's face suddenly lightened.

"Oh, you found Elspeth! I was so worried no one would want her! Actually...we were going to put her down in three days. But I'm so glad we won't have to now!" she cried. "Oh, come this way, I'll get your papers ready."

She led them to the front desk and started writing out adoption certificates to all of them. She was very pleased, especially considering all of the animals had been injured or mistreated at some point in their past lives. She stopped when she came to Chance and Roxas.

"Oh, Chance...I'll be almost sorry to see him go, but I can tell he's going to a good owner." she told Roxas.

"What happened to him?" the boy asked.

"He was abandoned, you see. Then I guess he escaped from his yard and started wandering the streets. He was hit by a car and brought to us, nearly dead. Thankfully, the family who brought him in also gave us enough money to fund his operation, so he was given a second chance. That's why we named him that." Sayll replied.

"Oh. That was nice of them." Roxas said, hugging Chance a bit closer.

"Yes, yes it was. Here is your certificate." the worker answered, handing him the paper.

"Thanks! I'll take real good care of him!" Roxas exclaimed, clutching the paper to his chest.

"I know you will." Sayll smiled.

Larxene approached the desk next, holding an Ocelot in her hands.

Sayll looked at it before smiling, "Ah, Zhia. Hers is quite the story. A millionaire a few towns over bought an Ocelot from overseas and neglected to feed or take care of her. Eventually, when he moved away, he conveniently left his pet in the apartment and she got out through the cat door. She was attacked by a stray dog and nearly died before someone found her and brought her here. She's a bit temperamental, but I'm sure you'll help her get over that."

Larxene nodded, hiding a smirk.

Demyx commented to Roxas in a low voice, "Yeah right. Put Larxene with a temperamental Ocelot and you get years and years of hell."

Xigbar's chosen pet was a one-eyed, battle-scarred Basenji named Arquebus. There were a ton of things that made Xigbar want this dog. Obviously, the one eye, the scars, and the fact he was named Arquebus, which, as Xigbar would of course know, was the name of a type of gun.

Sayll looked Xigbar up and down before laughing, "I can see why you chose Arquebus. He got into a street fight with a Rottweiler and a Doberman Pinscher and came out the winner. The Rot took his eye and the Pinscher tore up his face and side, but he was still the winner. I imagine you'll have quite the friendship together."

"I imagine we will." Xigbar grinned, petting the Basenji on the head. Arquebus barked his agreement.

Sayll finished up the certificates for Shinzo, Nimiipuu, Procyon, Damios, Raeld, Daze, Ridan, and Xemnas' eagle, which was named Rauni. She took a little extra time to explain their backgrounds, but no one minded. The Organization thought it interesting just how cruel the human heart could be, and appreciated the fact they all chose animals in need of truly loving and caring homes.

"Thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me and everyone here at the center!" Sayll exclaimed as she finished up the last of the paperwork.

"No problems, and...we have something for your center, actually." Xemnas said. From their pockets, all of the Nobodies pulled out generous donations of munny, out of everyone's personal savings and the Organization's funding. In all, there was over 150,000 munny going to the center and the donation made Sayll actually break into tears of joy.

"Oh my! This...this will fix up all of those rooms and we can begin funding for the vet to come back! Thank you so much! This has by far been the best day the center has ever seen! I can't even thank you enough!" she cried.

"Then don't try." Luxord said, "Just make sure as many of the animals as possible find good homes."

"And if anyone asks...just say the donation was from a bunch of Nobodies." Xigbar grinned. They all left then with their new pets, leaving Sayll with the money and the joy of the prospect of a bright new future in the center.

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><p><strong>An Azariosiza story without serious OCs? I hadn't thought it possible! Sayll isn't a serious OC, she's just the dedicated ASPCA worker.<strong>

**I wanted to raise a bit more awareness about the conditions of some pounds out there, and the fact that animals are abandoned, neglected, and mistreated every single day. I hope you like this :)**

**I decided to give some of the members weird pets because just a bunch of cats and dogs wouldn't be as...exciting as a raccoon, two owls, an eagle, a ferret, and a falcon. And Larxene's Ocelot? Oh man, I'm going to have FUN with those two!**

**See you next chapter! And review, please!**

**-Az.  
><strong>


	2. Fun at Pets Mart!

**Finally, here's chapter two!**

**Lazy ending is lazy :P**

**Enjoy, leave me a review!**

**-Az.**

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><p>About forty-five minutes after the ASPCA, the Nobodies once again found themselves outside of the Pets' Mart.<p>

"Now that we have our pets, let's get the supplies." Saix said, petting Shinzo on the head.

"Take about two hours everyone, then we'll meet back at the register." Xemnas told them.

There was a collective shout of "Right!" as everyone ran into the store and spread out, locating their supplies.

"This...is going to be fun." Larxene told Zhia as they caught sight of the bird cage. "Very fun."

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><p>Roxas held up a tennis ball.<p>

"Hey Demyx, do you think Chance would like this?" he asked his friend, who was looking at stuffed toys.

"I dunno man, why don't you ask Chance?" Demyx smiled. As if to prove his point, he took down a stuffed duck and held it out to Daze, who grabbed it and started making it quack.

"Good idea." Roxas agreed. He turned to his puppy and held out the tennis ball to him, "How about it, Chance? Want a tennis ball?"

Chance looked at the ball and actually shook his head. He jumped towards a rope toy and began tugging on it, prompting it to fall off its hook.

"Okay then," Roxas laughed, "the rope toy it is."

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><p>Marluxia stopped beside a black and silver water dish for cats. He picked it up and studied it, and was pleased to see it was one of those abstractly carved things; there was a black rose image decorating the sides. He found the matching food dish without much trouble and turned back to Raeld...or at least, where Raeld had been five seconds before.<p>

"What the—?" looking around, Marluxia saw his cat sitting on a shelf, watching a pretty female Persian cat walk by below.

"Raeld...I think she might be out of your league." the gardener sighed, shaking his head, "But you're welcome to try. I commend your endeavors. I'll see you later."

He walked away from the scene with Raeld's eyes on him. The Classicat seemed to have understood him and he jumped off of his shelf in front of the Persian with an artistic tail flick. The Persian flicked her tail in his nose before walking away with _her_nose high in the air. Raeld watched her go with a cat's smile, and he sauntered off after.

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><p>Zhia hissed in glee as the birds trapped in the cage squawked in terror and flapped around.<p>

"Heh...nice one, Zhia!" Larxene laughed as she set off a tiny pop of lightning, only frightening the birds more.

The Ocelot hissed and leaped at the cage again, causing the birds to scream in fear.

"What's going on over there?" a worker shouted, drawn by the noise.

"Oops, c'mon Zhia. Let's beat it." Larxene said, slipping away and walking down the nearest aisle. Zhia stopped her tormenting of the birds and set off after her owner, looking venomously over her shoulder at the worker who had come to soothe the rattled birds.

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><p>Zexion, Vexen, Xemnas, and Xaldin had all met up in the large bird section of the store.<p>

"This is convenient," Zexion said, examining the owl cages, "they actually have supplies for owls, falcons, and eagles here."

"Very convenient." Vexen agreed, holding up an applewood owl perch. "What do you make of this, Procyon?" Procyon studied the perch seriously before giving a hoot of dissent. He twisted his head to a dark oak perch and hooted at it.

"That one?" Vexen asked, going over and picking it up, "Actually...this one _is_ sturdier than the applewood one. Good eyes, Procyon."

Zexion selected a walnut wood perch for Damios and tucked it under his arm.

Xaldin and Xemnas were browsing the bird of prey cages.

"Something large but not too large. We have lots of wide open rooms in the castle for them to fly in." Xemnas commented.

"I was thinking I keep the cage in my room for night and just let him fly out in Twilight's View or Where Nothing Gathers." Xaldin said.

"Still, you need the cage." Vexen pointed out. He walked by and pointed at a beautifully made wrought-iron birdcage.

"That one looks rather suited for Rauni, Superior," he said, "and perhaps that silver-infused bronze one would be suited for Ridan?"

Xemnas picked up the heavy cage and Xaldin did likewise with his somewhat lighter one.

"Good eye, Vexen." Xaldin said gruffly.

Procyon hooted at Ridan in a friendly manner. Ridan eyed the night bird curiously before squawking a greeting back.

"Oh hurray," Zexion commented, "they're becoming friendly towards each other."

Vexen stopped.

"Animals have hearts to be friendly with?" he asked Zexion, who also stopped and gave it a thought.

"I suppose...I mean, I never gave _animals _a thought about having hearts." the Schemer mused.

"But I mean, the possibility is there, yes?" Vexen prompted.

"I believe we are due for an experiment?" Zexion asked.

Xemnas and Xaldin shook their heads as the two intellects lost themselves in scientific conversation.

"And yet, I am shockingly unsurprised." Xaldin sighed.

* * *

><p>Arquebus danced around a Labrador retriever twice his size, holding the remains of some teddy bear in his mouth.<p>

"Arq!" Xigbar laughed, "Leave that lab alone!"

Arquebus barked at the Labrador, taunting it.

The Labrador was unamused. He got down and growled at the Basenji and this movement made Arquebus drop the toy and growl back. His hackles raised and Xigbar noticed the sudden change in atmosphere.

"Yikes. C'mon, Arquebus, let's go. Don't start anything." he warned. Thankfully, the Labrador's owner came along and pulled the dog away, leaving Arquebus to saunter merrily back to Xigbar as if nothing had happened.

"You're weird." Xigbar said, "C'mon, let's get you a bed."

Arquebus just barked.

* * *

><p>Saix walked into the Veterinary clinic with Shinzo at his heels. A person at the desk looked up and saw them.<p>

"Hi, welcome to the Clinic, how may I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could change the bandages on my dog's leg?" Saix asked.

The man surveyed Shinzo's bandages and nodded.

"Of course. If you just follow me, I can put on some new wrappings and give you a few to take home." he said.

"Thank you." Saix said, following after him.

The friendly vet swiftly removed Shinzo's old bandages and replaced them, handing some clean cotton wraps to Saix, who swiftly put them into his pocket.

"No charge, have a nice day." the vet smiled.

Saix nodded his thanks and walked out of the clinic with Shinzo, absently stroking her head.

* * *

><p>Axel and Lexaeus walked down the Exotic Needs aisle, browsing.<p>

"Whatcha think, Ast?" Axel asked his ferret when they stopped beside a black and red painted ferret cage.

Astoni growled at it and scampered up Axel's arm, pointing with his tail at another cage a few feet away.

"_That _thing?" Axel asked, gawking at it. It was about three feet tall, five feet wide, and looked way too big for a _ferret. _

"It's huge, man!" the redhead exclaimed, but nonetheless walked over to it and studied it. Astoni made a noise of approval and made it clear he wouldn't stay in anything _other _than that cage.

"Fine. It'll waste me of my munny, but fine." Axel sighed. He grabbed a random cart and tried shifting the cage onto it, to no avail.

"Gah...Lex, little help?" he asked the huge man, who was holding another huge cage in one hand and supporting Nimiipuu in the other.

Lexaeus looked at him before placing Nimiipuu onto the cage and coming over to help. In one movement, he picked up the container and put it onto the cart (it was one of those things that store workers used to move boxes around). He then put his own cage onto it and sat Nimiipuu on it.

"Thanks, man." Axel sighed, pushing the cart further down the aisle.

"Now to just find ferret and raccoon food and we can get out of here."

* * *

><p>Once everyone had found what they needed, they met back at the front of the store.<p>

"Okay, so is everyone here? Everyone have what they need?" Axel asked, smiling.

There was a collective sigh of "Yep." as everyone double- and triple-checked their supplies.

"Yep, we're here to check out." Axel said to the cashier, who was a new, timid looking employee.

Poor girl...she fainted.

"Um...we'll just leave the munny here, okay?" Axel asked after bending over the counter to see if she was still breathing.

Leaving the munny for their purchases on the counter, the Organization walked out of the store casually before running like heck into a dark corridor to the castle.

Now, the fun would _really _begin.


End file.
